It's time to tell Madison about TEMPO.

We are the pioneers, the trailblazers, the women who dare to break through closed corporate doors and lead companies and non-profits and government entities and educational institutions.  We're the ones who take on a challenge, who lift each other and all women, up.  

We are TEMPO Madison.

One of the themes that came through our strategic planning process was that TEMPO has been a "best kept secret" that many female execs don't know about.  Our 40^th Anniversary Gala with Judy Woodruff and the dedication of the Frances Huntley-Cooper Council Chambers were a great start to getting TEMPO Madison out in to the public area. 

Now it's time to turn up the volume!  

Every Committee is weaving in ways to make TEMPO Madison more visible and seen as a community for women to aspire to join- we'll be sharing their plans with you in the coming months, and encourage you to get involved in those projects that speak to you.

This month's highlight: Emerging Leaders.

Vice President Ann Sappenfield, and Director-at-Large Nia Trammell are leading this initiative, which will have its first meeting sometime in September.  This will be a brainstorming meeting to ideate and choose a high-level direction with respect to emerging leaders.

Here's the premise: TEMPO Madison has a well-established and extremely well-run scholarship program for high school girls who are entering college, and last year established a Mentorship program for that co-hort.  Once those young women graduate from college and begin their careers, we lose sight of them.  It's years before they'll be "TEMPO Madison-ready" - most will be in their late 30's or early 40's before they qualify for membership.  

The Emerging Leaders group will be looking for ways to engage these younger women as they are moving from individual performer roles into management and leadership - this is the time they need mentorship the most.  The hope is that by providing support to them through these critical years, we'll be building a pipeline of future members as well.

Some initial things to think about:

• There could be an emerging leaders (new) classification of membership, much like TEMPO Milwaukee does.  This would not only provide a "place" for these women, it would also build a steady stream of new potential members for TEMPO Madison and provide us with an immediate new revenue stream.
  

• There could be a partnership with other organizations that serve mid-level women in management, such as The Business Forum.
  

• There could be a mentoring program for this cohort that is open to all women who are pursuing leadership roles.
  

• There could be specific programming for this cohort that is open to all women who are pursuing leadership roles.
  

This list could go on! There are many ways that TEMPO Madison can make an impact with this group.  If you are interested in participating at any level, please contact Executive Director, Erin Fabrizius at TempoMadison@TempoMadison.org and she'll make sure you're included.  This is an exciting initiative and I hope we get a diverse set of perspectives to launch it!

I also hope to see you all at our next luncheon on Sept 12th at the Madison Club; Making Home in the DairyLand, the Histories of Latinos in Wisconsin with Dr. Sergio M. González from Marquette.  Latinos were recognized as our State's largest minority population with the 2020 Census; Dr Gonzalez will explore their history, examining how migrants, immigrants, and refugees from across the America have built resilient communities across Wisconsin’s farms, towns, and urban spaces, and in the process transformed America’s Dairyland.  You can register for the September Luncheon HERE.  We hope to see you!

"... People do business with people they know, like and trust." 

- Bob Burg, The Go Giver

People also seek out Communities where they Know, Like and Trust their sisters.  And there's no better way to get to know your TEMPO Madison sisters better, than to do things together!

• Participating on a Committee is another great way to get involved, flex your mental muscles, and get to know your fellow TEMPO Madison members on a different level. You can find the Committee list here; remember you are always encouraged to check these out to see if they are a good fit, and our committee chairs are conscious of this being an organization made up of executives who already have busy schedules.  
• We have a number of active and ongoing special interest-driven groups that are worth checking out Madison TEMPO Groups.  If you're interested in attending any of these, just use the links right from the website to contact the group leader.
• Networking Committee Chair, Jennifer Winding is working with her team to give us lots of opportunities to meet in more casual settings, perhaps "give back" through volunteering,  learn together, and have fun.   Jen will be sending out a survey to see what you may be interested in doing.  Several possible upcoming events include:
• • Touring Dairy Facility at UW Ag School with Babcock ice cream on the terrace afterwards - late September
  • Volunteer event - Goodman Community Center - October   
  • UW Women's Volleyball Game - early November
• Monthly Luncheons are another great opportunity to meet people you don't know yet.  Please join us for a fascinating program on August 8^th with Dr. Amy Rosenbrough on the ancient canoe that was discovered in Lake Mendota.  The discovery gives us a unique view into Wisconsin's native peoples and their enduring connection to our lakes and waterways. Registration for that luncheon is here.

We are a "no judgement" group and appreciate your participating to the level that makes sense for you!

The sisterhood that plays together stays together - I hope to see you at a Group, Committee Meeting, Networking Event or Monthly Luncheon while this beautiful summer sun is still shining brightly!

Susan Thomson, TEMPO Madison President

Wow!  Beginning this year on the heels of our 40th Anniversary and the momentum behind our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee and Project Reach, plus the transfer of our philanthropic initiatives to a new Foundation Board is an amazing place start.  I’m both honored and humbled to lead this amazing community of leaders, and excited about what the future holds.

The work that last year’s Board members did on our strategic plan highlights four main areas of focus for us for the next 5 years:

3. Connecting with and nurturing a pipeline of “next generation” leaders.  Our scholarship program does an amazing job of connecting us with high school and college-age women, but we don’t have any programming or connection with them after they’ve graduated and are navigating their way through the work world.  Particularly as these ladies are moving from individual contributor roles into leadership roles, they’ll need mentoring and career advice; they can also serve as an evolving candidate pool for future Tempo membership.

Most exciting is that these initiatives open up all kinds of opportunities for you to get engaged, or re-engaged in TEMPO Madison!  If you have interest in ANY of these initiatives in any capacity, please reach out to Erin and we’ll get you connected.  Serving on a committee is a wonderful way to use your talents and build deeper relationships. 

Thank You for having me as this year’s TEMPO Madison president. 

I’m looking forward to an amazing year!  My appreciation to you All!

Susan Thomson, 2023-24 TEMPO Madison President

We are stronger together.

The theme I chose for my year as president is synergy, because I believe deeply that when it comes to TEMPO Madison, we are ALL stronger TOGETHER.

My year as president has reenforced by conviction in countless ways, starting from my first few weeks as president when I asked Sue Studz and Joan Gillman to coffee. Joan first introduced me to TEMPO in 2008. We met in Middleton and sat outside on a beautiful day. I asked them what advice they had for me as I took the helm for such an esteemed group of women. Their advice was sage, sound, and spot on. We talked about ways to continue to provide opportunities to Lead, Connect, and Engage.

Stronger together.

As I wrote in my initial column we’re here for each other, in the good times and bad.

And we have fun! I think it’s safe to say we’ve even surpassed the pre-pandemic “noise” level at our noon meetings. And, while yes, it can take a bit to quiet the room, the energy you bring to the table always makes me smile. It’s an energy we couldn’t produce alone.

Stronger together.

As I reflect on our TEMPO Madison events and initiatives of the past year, I have such gratitude for the effort each one of you put in to help reach our many accomplishments. You have a lot to be proud of, and none of it could happen working on our own.

Stronger together.

I transition to the role of Immediate Past President knowing that TEMPO Madison will be in the very best of hands under the leadership of In-Coming President Susan Thomson. I’ve no doubt that you will greatly benefit from Susan’s dynamic personality and significant expertise.

My heartfelt appreciation to our own Erin Fabrizius, the members of our phenomenal Board of Directors as well as our amazingly dedicated committee chairs and committee members. Each of you went above and beyond in offering your time and talents to make this past year extra special for me.

Stronger together.

It’s been a true honor to serve as your President. I am most grateful to you all for your support and friendship and for making my past year incredibly meaningful and memorable.

I hope to see many of you at our annual meeting where we’ll also be recognizing our scholarship winners. Once again we have an amazing group of scholars! Let’s celebrate their success, and ours, together!

With my deepest appreciation and admiration –

Michelle

Michelle Vetterkind, 2022-2023 President

We are so close to our goal of $5000 for this year’s TEMPOShares Experience, so you know what we are going to do? Offering hot smoking deals get us to the finish line!

We are offering the last remaining spots of each experience to those who purchased first – bring a friend, spouse, co-worker, or a TEMPO Madison member you would like to meet!

Fire Sale Options!

Fire Sale Price! 

• 2 spots J Henry Cocktail Class for $40.00
• 2 spots left UW Volleyball at Bucky's Balcony for $100.00
• 13 spots left PBS tour on July for $25.00
• 5 spots left Sip & Scarves for $25.00

Purchase here!

Spring is finally here and you can most definitely feel the renewed excitement and energy in the air!

You could feel it at our TEMPO Madison board meeting this past week and you could most definitely feel it at our Project REACH event on April 11. “Personal Journeys to the Boardroom”, led by the Project REACH Committee, in conjunction with Milwaukee Women, Inc, involved a panel discussion with three inspiring Milwaukee leaders who shared their corporate board experiences. It was an inspiring and informative program. We truly have a gem in our Project REACH initiative, the mission being to get more women on corporate business boards. A special thank you to Kim Sponem and Kris Euclide, as Co-Founders of this most important initiative and to Shana Lewis and Patti Epstein for their roles as current Co-Chairs.

Project REACH has offered many highly valuable workshops to help our TEMPO Madison members who have an interest in serving on a corporate board. One of my personal favorites has been the “Project REACH Workshop: Write Your Corporate/Business Board Bio” with ML Wattman (FYI – I believe another one is in the planning stages). First and foremost, I will echo the comments of those who have participated in the workshop in that ML is AMAZING! If you haven’t worked with her, you’re in for a real treat. Participants leave these workshops with a complete (or almost complete) board bio that they can begin using immediately.

Our Project REACH database offers board brief and board bio documents on a broad pool of qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise.

Project REACH – take a look on our TEMPO Madison website for more details and to see what’s coming up next.

A special thank you to everyone who has donated to our April Showers Match Challenge! As I write this column (on April 22), we are nearly at our goal of getting the full $4,000 matching grant from Joan Collins. Thank YOU so very much, Joan, for your generosity! As a result, we have the potential (and I’ve no doubt we’ll get there) to raise up to $8,000 for our TEMPO Madison Foundation Scholarship Program!

It’s no secret that TEMPO Madison members are most generous and also love a good challenge!

Our TEMPO Madison Annual Meeting will be here before we know it (don’t forget about the new date – Tuesday, June 20 – the 3rd Tuesday vs. our normal 2nd Tuesday of the month). The board had an exciting discussion this past week about what the event will entail. We’re refining the idea for our Speed Networking event – just for us, TEMPO Madison Members, that will be held just prior to the meeting. As the January head shot session was so well received, we’re planning to have Debbie Borth from Camera Kisses back with us to offer headshots during the June event, as well.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for June 20! The TEMPO Madison Annual Meeting is an event that is looked forward to each year. This year will not disappoint!

At our recent board meeting, Theola Carter reminded me of my favorite way to describe TEMPO Madison (besides Synergy, of course) is that TEMPO Madison allows for you to be as involved as you want to be/can be, at any given time! TEMPO Madison has something for everyone.

So – who do you know who’s TEMPO Madison Ready? The next membership nomination deadline will be May 31.

I’m sure you’ll agree that there truly is no better place to network and is often the case, form life-long friendships (yes, it’s Synergy at its best)!

That said, I look forward to seeing you at one of our many upcoming events!

Michelle Vetterkind
2022-23 TEMPO Madison President

TEMPO Madison member Joan Collins is generously matching up to $4,000 in donations made to the TEMPO of Madison Foundation scholarship program during the month of April. Every dollar donated between now and April 30 will be DOUBLED (up to $4,000), with the potential to raise a total of $8,000 for the scholarship program. 

The Foundation has awarded over $123,000 in need-based scholarships to 41 female high school seniors since its inception. 

Help us support the educational goals of young women in our community by making a tax-deductible donation today! 

Donate Today

Eve Galanter is now home and will be recuperating in the coming months. Her daughter Rachel has put together an online food delivery for Eve and her husband, Marc Galanter: This will be updated over the coming weeks, check back! Suggestions for Audiobooks and podcasts to Eve would be greatly appreciated.

SignUpGenius Eve & Marc's support system: Support Eve & Marc (signupgenius.com)

It was a magical night that embodied Synergy……the dedication of the Frances Huntley-Cooper City of Fitchburg Common Council Chambers on March 8.

I was honored to be invited to speak on our behalf as President and I’m thrilled to say that we most definitely had terrific (and most energetic) representation from TEMPO Madison.

I’d like to share my comments from that night:

I stand here, proudly representing TEMPO Madison.

Some of you may wonder what TEMPO Madison is all about….

TEMPO Madison is comprised of approximately 230 women executives, including C-Suite leaders, presidents, vice presidents, executive directors, entrepreneurs, deans, elected officials and political appointees. We are so proud to have so many of our TEMPO Madison Sisters here with us tonight – if you can all please stand.

And…..we’re most proud to say that Frances is one of us.

Not only is she one of us, but…… few people embody TEMPO Madison’s mission to lead, engage and connect influential women of diverse backgrounds more than Frances. After all, throughout her career, she has blazed a path for other women to follow.

From everything we’ve heard today – we all know that Frances goes Big…..

She’s tenacious!!

She’s vibrant….

She’s an amazing leader…..

And…she has a big heart.

She truly has made – and continues to make a difference.

To say that Frances has played a critical role in TEMPO Madison’s history is an understatement – she has made (and inspired) countless contributions to her community thru her leadership roles in TEMPO Madison…. She’s a Past President, She’s served many years on the Board of our TEMPO of Madison Foundation, and she’s served on numerous committees.

That said, while I don’t mean to speak for Frances, I think I can safely say that one of her proudest moments was her instrumental role in bringing Maya Angelou to Madison to speak at TEMPO Madison’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, this was also the year that Frances was our President. While that event took place 20 years ago, our members continue to say it was a highlight – and for some, it was life-changing.

I would like to share two quotes by Maya Angelou's that I believe truly speak to who Frances is: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style” and “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy, make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.”

Well done, Frances! You’ve left (and continue to leave) a mark on the world and a legacy that can’t be erased.

We’re most proud that our TEMPO Madison Foundation was able to donate the plaque honoring Frances and we’re most proud of the role that TEMPO Madison’s DEI committee had in helping to organize this commemoration.

On behalf of TEMPO Madison, Congratulations Frances, we could not be more proud than to have YOU as one of us.

As a follow up to last month’s column, I’m pleased to report that your TEMPO Madison Board held a day-long Stratetic/Long-Range Planning Session on Friday, March 17. A special thank you to Susan Thompson for her generosity and leading the day (this is one of Susan’s skills in her profession). And…a special thank you to all of our TEMPO Madison Board members (and of course, Erin) for their enthusiasm, candor, and most importantly, vision. While it will take a bit for the plan to be finalized, I’ve no doubt that TEMPO Madison will realize the benefits of that day for many years to come.

If you haven’t yet signed up for TEMPOShares (May 2 at Vitense Golfland), please do so now. There are many opportunities to provide support, from donating experiences to sponsorships to simply attending and maybe bringing a guest or two. It will be a no-pressure (hey, it’s mini golf ), fun-filled night and I look forward to seeing you there!

As always, my sincere appreciation for your support.

Michelle Vetterkind, 2022-2023 TEMPO Madison President

Our dear friend and TEMPO Madison past president Sue Ann Kaestner passed away in July, 2021. Sue Ann was a successful entrepreneur who loved founding, owning and growing her business, The Widget Source. Throughout her career, she focused on supporting other women with her connections, her kindness, and her financial contributions. Sue Ann loved the women of TEMPO Madison and was an active force in our organization’s success.

Sue Ann's family designated her memorial contributions be made to the TEMPO Madison Foundation. The initial amount donated in Sue Ann's honor was $4,500.00. This has increased to $8,000 with generous donations from The Widget Source and Sue Ann's family. 

An email to our membership last month explained the reorganization of the TEMPO Madison Foundation and the newly launched Grants Committee. This Committee, in conjunction with Sue Ann's family, recently designated the first donations to be made in Sue Ann's name. We think Sue Ann would be pleased to know her memorial is being used to help women learn and to help women launch, improve or grow their businesses.

A portion of Sue Ann's memorial funds will be used to provide:

●      $1,000 Scholarship to be awarded by the TEMPO Madison Scholarship Committee.

●      $4,000 to the TEMPO Madison KIVA Lending Committee.

We will provide updates to you, our membership, and to Sue Ann's family as additional grants are made.

You can learn more about the Foundation Scholarship program here and the Kiva Lending Team here.

Sue Ann's sister Kris offered thoughts that guided our reasoning on these first grants. “When I think of Sue Ann as a business person, I think of her ability to think outside the box. She was great at listening to people and then trying to see what was holding them back from accomplishing their goals and see if there was a way around, over, under, or across the obstacle. She was always ready and willing to listen and lend a hand. She loved being in charge and the challenge of having a small business, so I think along the lines of something that would tie into helping other women start and or sustain their own business would be a great legacy.”

You can donate to the Sue Ann Kaestner Legacy fund here. Please mention Sue Ann's name in the notes.

Thank you to those who have donated in the past in her memory!

Please direct any questions or comments to the Grants Committee.

Vickie Wenzel, Co-chair  - wenzelvickie6@gmail.com

Kris Euclide, Co-chair  - kaeuclide@aol.com

Laurie Dies - lauriedies@tds.net